


Nightmares and Fairy Tales

by alynwa



Series: Sugar and Spies Tales [48]
Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-03
Updated: 2013-09-03
Packaged: 2017-12-25 12:42:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/953238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alynwa/pseuds/alynwa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally written for the Picfic Tuesday Challenge on Livejournal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares and Fairy Tales

Napoleon and Leona Nicole were enjoying themselves walking through the countryside on a beautifully sunny, cloudless day.  They were holding hands and occasionally they would point out interesting things to each other.  As they continued walking, Leona let go of her Daddy’s hand and ran along the path in front of him.

“Leona, don’t get too far ahead of me!” he called.  He started to jog to catch up with her, but his legs didn’t seem to want to respond to his brain’s command.  _I must have pulled a muscle,_ he thought.

Just as he about to call her again, she stopped beside a large tree.  “Daddy, I found something!” she announced excitedly as she bent down and picked up what looked to Napoleon to be a small bottle.  She pulled the stopper out of it and put the bottle to her lips.

“Leona, stop!  Don’t drink that!”  His voice seemed to come out like a whispered croak.  _What is wrong with me?_ He watched in horror as the little girl drank the contents and began to shrink before his eyes.  “ _Leona!”_ he screamed as she opened a foot tall door at the bottom of the tree and dashed through.

After what seemed an eternity, he got to the tree and bent down to look inside.  There was no sign of her, but there was a staircase that wound down into the earth.  “Leona, where are you?  Please come back to Daddy!”  He heard faint giggling from below and nothing else.  He looked around the tree base desperately and found the bottle.  It had a little label on in that said “Drink Me.”  Without hesitation, he downed what liquid remained and immediately began to shrink.  The moment he was small enough to fit, he raced through the door and down the stairs.  Or at least, that was what he was trying to do.

_Why can’t I run any faster?  Why is this so hard?_ When he finally reached the bottom, he could see Leona jumping around with what appeared to be a white rabbit with blond bangs in a field of dandelions.  He started to run toward her, but it was like his feet were rooted to the spot.

“Daddy, look!  Papa’s a bunny now!  Papa’s a _bunny!_ ” she squealed as the two continued to run around in circles that were taking them farther and farther away from Napoleon.

“Leona!  Leona, come back!  _Leona!”_

“Napoleon, wake up!  Wake up before you shout the roof down!”

Napoleon’s eyes flew open as he sat up in bed to see Illya standing just inside his room.  “Leona!” he cried, coming out of his bed in a dead run, almost knocking the Russian out of his way in his haste to get to their daughter’s room.  He snatched the door open and the hallway light revealed the little girl peaceably asleep.

Illya gently pulled him back out of the room.  “We are lucky you did not awaken her.  You were _screaming,_ Napoleon,” he said as he pulled her door shut again.  “Come.”  He led the way into the living room, unlocked the liquor cabinet and poured the brunet a shot of scotch.  He handed it to Napoleon and watched him swallow it in one gulp.  “Tell me about your nightmare.”

He listened as Napoleon recounted his tale.  When he heard the part about the blond – haired bunny, he laughed out loud.  “I was a bunny?  I must have been very cute,” he snorted.  His laughter died in his throat when he noticed the look on Napoleon’s face.  “It was a bad dream, Napoleon, obviously brought about because we all watched ‘Alice in Wonderland’ this evening.  In fact, as nightmares go, it was not half as bad as some of the ones you have told me.  Why is this one different?”

Napoleon turned his back and looked out the window.  “This is the first nightmare I’ve had that Leona Nicole was in.  It seemed so real.  I wasn’t afraid for myself, I was afraid for her.  I couldn’t get to her, I…” he shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself.  “Illya, if anything ever happened to her…”

“Do not think that way, _moy brot,_ we will continue to do our best to make sure she remains safe.”  He walked up behind Napoleon and patted him on the back.  “It is almost one AM.  Do you think you can sleep, now?”

“I’m going to stay up a bit longer.  I’ll be fine.  Go to bed.”

Illya yawned, stretched and replied, “Alright.  I’ll be in my room if you need me.  Good night.”

Napoleon watched him go and then looked out over the City a little while longer.  When he got tired of standing, he walked back to Leona’s room and went inside to kiss her goodnight.  _We are never watching Alice in Wonderland again, little girl.  It’s obviously too scary for your Daddy._   


End file.
